Mary Anne Supports Muriel
by MaryAnnefan4Life
Summary: Mary Anne and Muriel have been talking for a long time. One day, Muriel wanted Mary Anne to help with an issue she was having. This is one big decision to make when Muriel tells Mary Anne about her pregnancy.
1. Muriel Talks to Mary Anne

The Baby-Sitters Club belong to Ann M. Martin.

It was father-daughter day at Dad's work. I would be going there after school. Cindy's daughter, Muriel, is really nice. We attend the same school. We both go to Stoneybrook High School. I'm 14 and a ninth grader. She's 17 and an eleventh grader. We plan to go there together. Our parents were fine.

After school, I was waiting for Muriel outside when she came out.

"Can we talk on the way?" asked Muriel. "I need your advice about something."

"Okay," I said as we went to her car.

On the way, Muriel said, "First off, I'm pregnant."

"Wow," I said.

Muriel was supposed to be in college, but she stood back in tenth grade and now, had to repeat her junior year. Her worse subject is Math.

"The thing is that I don't think I'll be ready to be the mother yet," said Muriel.

"I can see why. Are you afraid to stay back again?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Muriel. "I don't believe in abortion. I haven't told my parents yet. I just found out yesterday."

"If you feel that you don't want to raise the child, pick an option is right for you," I said.

"I'm thinking about going for adoption," said Muriel.

"What about your boyfriend?" I asked.

"He and I aren't speaking to each other today," said Muriel.

"Really? Pete was a nice guy," I said.

"He didn't take the news when I told him I was pregnant," said Muriel.

"Would he support your decision?" I asked.

"I'll tell him when the time is right," said Muriel. "I didn't want him to pressure me to do something I might not want to do."

"I get what you mean," I said. "Do you plan to tell your mom when we get to the law office?"

"I think so," said Muriel. "When I do decide, do you want to come to the adoption center with me?"

"Sure," I replied. "I'll support you no matter what you choose to do."

"Thanks," said Muriel. "You're a great listener."

"I know. That's what I do," I said.

When we got to the law office, Dad wasn't in the office.

"Hi, Mary Anne. Your father just stepped out to see a client and will be back shortly, but he said you can take over for him until he comes back," said Cindy.

"Okay, great," I said.

"Hi, Muriel," said Cindy.

"Hi. Do you have a moment to talk?" asked Muriel.

"Sure," replied Cindy.

Muriel told her mom about pregnancy and her plans.

"That's okay if you feel you don't want to be the mother. I don't blame you," said Cindy.

"She's afraid she'd stay back again," I said. "I was supporting her."

"That's good," said Cindy.

"Mary Anne is going to the adoption center with me once I make up my mind," said Muriel.

"Good," said Cindy.

"And, Pete isn't taking it too well, but I'm going to see if I could tell him about the adoption plans when the time is right," said Muriel. "I don't want him to force me to make a choice that I won't want to do like an abortion. I don't believe in it."

"It's okay to wait to tell him," said Cindy.

"I might go to the adoption center tomorrow," said Muriel.

"Or you can go now," said Cindy.

"I'll wait until my final decision is made," said Muriel.

"That's fine," said her mom.

The office was very quiet. There were no phone calls while we talked.

"Your office must be slow on some days," I said.

"Sometimes. We're busy other times," said Cindy.

"Where was this client that Dad's seeing?" I asked.

"At a courthouse. This young girl's father is in jail and DCF want your father to be involved to put her in foster child. She was abused," said Cindy.

"Wow," I said.

"At least she should be in foster care. Where's her mom?" asked Muriel.

"She died many years ago when the girl was a baby. She's 10 now," said Cindy.

"Poor thing must be so scared," I said.

"She is," said Cindy.

That was when Dad came back from the court.

"Hi, how did it go?" I asked.

"The girl's grandparents were fighting with DCF to take their granddaughter," said Dad.

"That must be a mess," I said.

"It was. The judge let the girl decide where she wants to go and she said she wants to live with her grandparents. DCF think they have a bad record, but the judge told they were wrong and made that decision to have the grandparents take custody," said Dad.

"Did DCF do a background check first?" asked Muriel. "That's usually the first step."

'They did and the record was fine according to the judge," said Dad.

"Good," I said.

"I know," said Dad.


	2. Muriel and Mary Anne's Plans

One thing you should know about me. I have breathing issues. It's a pain because the inhaler I use wouldn't work often. It happened to me before Christmas Vacation when I contracted pneumonia.

The law office was still slow, so Dad was able to leave work at four pm.

The next day, at school, Muriel came to me and said, "I made my final decision and decided to do adoption. It took me time to decide."

"That's good," I said.

"I did tell Pete and he thinks I'd regret it," said Muriel.

"I doubt it," I said.

"I wasn't going to make him to get me to change my mind," said Muriel.

"That's right," I said. "What did Pete was trying to get you to do?"

"Abortion," said Muriel. "But I told him no. I didn't believe in it."

"Good that would make him understand and respect your wishes," I said. "When do you plan to go the adoption center?"

"Mom said I can go there anytime after school, so I'm going there today," said Muriel. "I made an appointment to meet a teen when Mom and I left work."

"Okay," I said. "When you still want me to go with you like we planned?"

"You can wait until tomorrow so I can meet the teen in private if that's okay," said Muriel.

"I don't mind," I said.

At home, I was feeling nauseous all of the sudden while I was doing homework. Why did it had to happen now is beyond me.

That night, at dinner, I came down slowly because I was still feeling nauseous. Most of the time, I'm scared to eat when I'm feeling that way because I didn't want to get sick. But somehow, I ate just fine, but I took my time. I didn't want to eat too much.

"Are you okay? You're not eating much," said Dad.

"I'm just taking my time. I'm feeling nauseous," I said. "I was afraid to get sick."

"I understand, honey," said Dad.

After dinner, my stomach was starting to feel worse and still felt nauseous.

"I think I'll skip helping the others in the kitchen tonight," I said.

"I don't blame you," said Dad.

I went upstairs so I can try to lie down.

"Was she alright tonight?" asked Carlos.

"She didn't feel like helping you guys out tonight. She felt sick to her stomach," said Dad.

"I understand," said Carlos.

I took some TUMs and luckily, I felt a little better, but I went to bed early to get better for school. Dad was fine with that.


	3. The Adoption Plans

The next day, at school, Muriel saw me.

"How did it go yesterday?" I asked.

"I'm very happy when I met the couple," said Muriel. "I'll prove Pete that I made the decision that is best for me and the baby."

"Exactly," I said. "Are you picking the couple today?"

"Yes," said Muriel. "When I went to the center the other day, they didn't pressure me. They wanted to make sure I was making the right choice."

"That's good," I said.

"I told this lady, Linda, who is very nice, I plan to do an open adoption. That way the child can meet me when he or she turns 18."

"That's a good idea. It's normal if that's you wanted to do," I said.

Then, we left together and took off to the local adoption center.

The couple Muriel and I picked out was the Humbles of Stamford. They have been trying to have a baby in four years and didn't succeed at all. They would like to adopt a child very much.

"Are you interested with this couple?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Muriel. "I would like to meet them."

"You can if you wish," said Linda.

"Okay," said Muriel

"I'll make arrangements for you to meet them," said Linda.

"My mom is taking me to see a doctor next week to see how far I am," said Muriel. "I can meet them after that."

"No problem," said Linda.

She called them and Muriel will meet the couple next Friday at about four. It was perfect since she has a doctor's appointment next Thursday after school.

After that, Muriel feels much better.

"I'm glad I'm doing this. This is better than taking a risk of staying back again. It's bad enough I did that twice in both grades because of Math. I went to summer school for it, but it didn't work out for me," said Muriel.

"Stacey can always help you. She's a math whiz," I said.

"I could do that," said Muriel.

"She might ask which parts you have trouble with," I said. "She'll be happy to help. In fact, she can add up the money in her head when she collects the dues on Mondays. That's why she's our treasurer."

"Wow," said Muriel.

"Dawn doesn't like math either. She has trouble with it other, so she always ask Stacey for help when she gets stuck on any problems," I said.

"Word problems confuse me the most. Otherwise, I'm fine with the other math problems," said Muriel.

"I know they're confusing, but I don't have an issue," I said.


	4. Mary Anne's Secret to her Friends

Later, Muriel offered to bring me to Claudia.

"I might tell our friends about your plans during the meeting because if I mention it around Cokie, she'll start trouble," I said.

"I agree with your idea," said Muriel.

"Should I tell them to keep that as a secret? I'd be afraid your friends might judge you if they find out," I said.

"I know. You know what? Tell them not to tell anyone," said Muriel. "I come to you because you're easy to chat with."

"Exactly," I said.

I thanked Muriel and went inside.

"We haven't seen you lately," said Kristy.

"I was with Muriel. She came to me to help her," I said.

"With what?" asked Stacey.

"I'll wait until everyone else arrive so I won't have to repeat it," I said.

"Good idea," said Claudia.

"Dawn, Mallory, and Jessi aren't here yet," said Stacey.

"I told Dawn I won't be coming here with her," I said.

That was when the rest of the crew.

"I miss not coming here with you," said Dawn.

"I know, but what I was doing was important for Muriel," I said.

"What was so important?" asked Dawn.

"If I tell you, Muriel doesn't want anyone else to know," I said.

"Okay, what was going on her?" asked Jessi.

"First of all, Muriel came to me and told me she was pregnant on our way to the father-daughter day at Dad's office. But she's only 17 and had to stay back twice. She's afraid that might happen again when she told me she doesn't think she would be a mom right now," I said.

"Wow," said Kristy.

"Well, she thought about adoption, so she meet a teen yesterday and felt good about her decision. She choose an open adoption so that her child can meet her in the future. We just left from the center. She picked a couple who have been trying to have a baby in a few years. She's meeting them next week. She asked me go with her to support her," I said.

"It's good to be supportive," said Stacey.

"I get it now," said Dawn.

"She rather tell the plans to me because her classmates might end up rejecting her. So, I decided to keep it a secret," I explained.

"Don't repeat it to anyone. I do not trust Cokie or her sidekicks," I said.

"You got that right," said Kristy. "Our secret is safe."

Even Dawn agreed not to tell anyone, not even Cokie.


	5. Muriel Meets the Adoptive Couple

A week later, on Thursday, when Cindy took Muriel to the doctor's, she was told she was only eight weeks and would be due in about seven months. They told her the due date. The next day, I went to the adoption center with Muriel so she can meet the adoptive parents.

I told her I'd be waiting so they can meet in private. They were very nice to her. Muriel liked them right away and she knew they were the right people for her baby.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"I liked them," replied Muriel.

"That's a good sign," I said as we left the adoption center with her.

"I know," agreed Muriel. "Mom was able to make Pete understood why I wanted to give my child up for an adoption so I can get good grades."

"Good," I said.

"He finally understood, but got mad at me because he wanted to be the father," said Muriel.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Muriel

"It's none of his business that adoption is what you wanted," I said. "If my boyfriend acted like that, I'd break up with him."

"I agree with you. I might do that if he doesn't support my decision," said Muriel.

"What about your dad?" I asked.

"My dad is very supportive and he's upset with Pete for not doing the same," said Muriel.

"I think Pete should take lessons from your father," I said as Muriel agreed.


End file.
